PA Hacks For The Mobile Youth Worker

We already know that Youth Workers are often expected to be all things to all people – and one of those things is ‘expert PA engineer.’

Making sound work for a variety of events and projects in an increasingly multi-media-driven generation is important. Making it work simply is the nightmare! Add to this that the Youth Worker on the go needs to be mobile, needs to get things setup quickly and really needs sound to just work first time, every time.

Rapid, mobile, versatile with plug-and-play usability is the mantra for the Youth Worker PA tool kit! This isn’t a post to compare the very best in large rigs for events and bands (borrow one from your local school!). This is a post of recommendations for small, simple and mobile solutions for the Youth Worker that needs to travel, setup and use multi-media regularly.

There are loads of mobile options for PA Hacks out there – I’m going to give you three.

The Bluetooth Speaker

I travel with a Bluetooth Speaker that is powerful enough to fill a room with about 50 people absorbing the sound. I’ve used it outdoors for a festival seminar with my mobile phone, and for projected cinema nights from my laptop. Every week this travels with me in my laptop bag alongside a travel projector for youth clubs and school assemblies.

Which one?

You need to find the right balance between small and quality. The smaller you go the worse the sound will be, and the larger you go the less battery features and portability it will have. A basic rule of thumb is you need just two internal drivers (speakers) with at least 3 inch diameters. Don’t believe the hype of smaller units boasting big sounds (and charging big bucks for them!). Physics is physics – go and listen to them yourself.

I spent a month researching and testing many speakers including LG, Bose, Philips, Samsung and JVC.

I settled on a low budget 10w version made by Polaroid which is far louder and clearer than the many high end versions, including the high branded sound bars. It’s at ASDA for £40.00 – follow the link, but there’s a new version in store!

It’s well made, has good connectivity and a quality, loud sound for it’s size. It doesn’t overdo the bass (like its many other modern counterparts), and it doesn’t sound thin or tinny at high volumes. It will distort/peak in certain frequencies when turned right up, but for that you need a mobile PA/Combo Amp which we’ll look at next.

The Compact Acoustic Combo Amp

These little amps are portable amp+speaker units that you can carry with one hand and usually give you a couple of high quality channels. I think they are the frequently overlooked but absoltuely ideal option for most venues and uses. I use mine for live sound and music, plugging in a guitar and microphone, or two microphones simultaneously. It easily fills medium to large venues and can be plugged into a bigger PA if needed.

You’re better with an acoustic amp rather than an electric guitar or keyboard amp as they will alter the frequencies and ‘colour’ the sound. An acoustic amp gives you hi fi – or full spectrum – transparent sound, so things will sound the way they’re supposed to!

Which one?

It’s worth saying up front that they are a bit pricey, but – in my opinion – worth every penny!

I use the AER Compact 60 III. Largely considered one of the best acoustic amps in the world. It is easily better sounding and louder than most PA systems that I run across in churches and schools. The AER gives you 2 XLR channels (so 2 microphones), one of which doubles us as a jack (guitar/keys/laptop etc.). I use this every week for leading worship, talks and quizzes. It easily fills large venues and is clear enough to cut through a full band.

The AER also has line outs for extra speakers, DI out for the PA and a basic – but very usable – reverb and EQ feature. Although down in price, now at £749 it will cost you. They also make a battery powered version at £1175. Both of these come with padded cases. I spent an extra £30 on mine to get a fold away stand to lift it off the floor and angle it upwards.

For a slightly cheaper option to the AER with many of the same features, but a bit of compromise in sound quality, consider the Tanglewood T6. This comes in at £395 with 2 very usable channels, a reasonable reverb, DI out and padded bag.

It also has a couple of features the AER doesn’t: An AUX in and a top hat socket underneath so it can be mounted on a speaker stand. Great for a budget!

If you need high sound quality, but more channels then consider writing to the Italian company ACUS for a ACUS ONE 5, 6, 8 or 10. These are small units with amazing build quality and a sound to (almost) rival the German AER. However, they come with more channels, outputs and better reverb.

Ranging from £300 – £1000 they give you far more options too. You can effectively run a full band from it and have it still remain mobile. The ACUS ONE 8 would be my pick for the best balance of features and affordability at £595.

Mobile PA System

The final step up is the mobile PA system. This again needs to fit in your car boot, be easy to transport on foot and quick to set up – however, with the extra versatility of separate speakers and more channels. It’s worth saying up front though that none of these options will give you the clarity of mobile sound that the AER or the ACUS amps will provide.

We have a seldom used mobile PA that comes out if we need a few more channels. It tends to compliment the acoustic amp rather than replace it though. If we need a big sound – we go straight for a big PA… but that’s not what this post is about!

Which one?

One of the best for mobility and sound quality is the Fender Passport. There are a few different options, but the Event model gives you 4 XLR channels and a few other ins & outs. They are built with high quality clip on speakers to make it easy to carry. This is a great model to throw in the car and will happy hosting most medium sized events. The Fender Passport ranges from £265 – £604 – with the Event model coming in at £468.

Other than this you can check out simple and affordable models from JBL, Yamaha or Kam – but honestly I think it’s a better investment to get a decent combo amp and beg/steal/borrow/hire bigger PAs when you need them.
What do you use?

We’d love to hear about your PA solutions for and effective sound! Comment or get involved with the facebook page and let us know!